I was invited to be a part of Patheos‘ new Theoblogger Challenge – God in 100 Words or Less. (Patheos is a multifaith website where I occasionally write for the Catholic and Mainline Protestant Portals.)
One of their regular features is the Public Square, and this week the subject is God. They decided to reach out to a handful of theobloggers (those blogging about God online) and launched their first-ever Theoblogger Challenge inviting a dozen bloggers to answer the question: *Who/What is God? … in 100 words or less.*
Here is my response:
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God Is…
The One who pulses through the ancient blood of our ancestors,
and births newness in holy ecstasy.
The ticking of time through each mundane minute,
and the spilling open into eternity’s wide expanse.
The long naked branch, black against the winter sky,
and the petaled profusion of spring’s blossoming.
The beggar’s bowl
and the fountain overflowing.
The aching arms reaching out in lonely longing,
and the tingle of skin against skin in a lovers’ tangle.
The One who draws us to the sacred center of the world,
and lures us far beyond the fertile edges of our imagining.
-Christine Valters Paintner
*****
Click over to read the other responses and I invite you to play along – feel free to write your own reflection on who or what God is in 100 words or less. Post them here in the comments, at the Patheos site, or at your own blog and let me know!
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** For another opportunity to offer words of reflection, stop by this week’s Abbey Poetry Party on Entering the Desert’s Fire (and submit it by Friday for a chance to win a prize)**
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© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
7 Responses
Hi Christine,
I just tried and failed dismally, so I have total respect for your achievement. A lovely testimony to the grace of God. In the 15th century you probably would have been writing the hymns and prayers that we all rejoice with today. Well done.
Col :-)
Beautifully written ~ balance, open, fluid
I played along too!
Ok, couldn’t he’p myself!
http://virtualteahouse.com/blogs/beth/archive/2010/02/19/god-in-100-words-or-less.aspx
Very evocative imagery. I couldn’t resist playing along. Here’s my 100 words:
http://www.aneccentricmagnolia.com/2010/02/god-in-100-words.html
Very beautiful. I love the beggar’s bowl and fountain line!
Here’s my response:
http://writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com/2010/02/god-is-poem.html